Lullaby For a Princess
by Angel of the Axis
Summary: (Sorta song and drabblefic. Gemshipping, Statushipping, and mentioned Blindshipping.) "Each moment, I'm watching my vengeance unfold..." Oneshot, kinda AU-ish. Some genderbending. Rated T for blood and character death.


An infant's soft cry pierced the night, a male with white hair gently rocking her back and forth.

"Shh, shh, child." He whispered, holding her close to his chest. "All will be well. Hush, child...give your poor father a rest."

The girl's crying ceased a bit, but, staring up at him with big amethyst eyes, she kept weeping.

"What do you wish for?" He asked. He laughed when her tiny hand grabbed a lock of his silver hair. "How shall I get you back to sleep, young one...?"

An idea came to him, and, smiling softly down at her, he asked, "Would you like me to sing you a lullaby?"

She cooed at him, making him chuckle. "If you wish."

He began to hum, getting up from his bed. Walking around the room, he began to weave a spell.

 _ **"Hush, child, the darkness will rise from the deep..."**_ He sang quietly, never ceasing his rocking motions. The child gazed up at him curiously, releasing the hair. _**"And carry you down into sleep, child..."**_

 _ **"The darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep."**_ He carefully held her in one arm and, with the other, began to make the motions needed to make the spell.

 _ **"Guileess daughter, I'll shape your belief, and you'll always know that your father's a thief."**_ His eyes flashed. _**"And you won't understand the cause of your grief, but you'll always follow the voices beneath."**_

Her eyes began to droop, her tears stopping completely.

* * *

It was several years later, and she blinked innocently up at her instructor. "Ryou-san, I don't get it."

"You'll understand with practice." He smiled kindly down at her. "Try it again."

 _ **"Guileess daughter, your spirit will hate her,"**_ her instructor's voice echoed, the lullaby echoing within the caverns of her mind. _**"the flower who married his lover the traitor."**_

* * *

She'd always been told her 'mommy'* was once royalty, but even as she asked her self-proclaimed 'uncle', he never gave a straight answer.

"Akefia-kun," she would ask, puppy-eyes activated. "who was my father?"

"You already know who your father is, Hera.**" He would pat her head and turn to walk away, but would always freeze when she asked, "No, not Mommy. Who was my _father_?"

 _ **"And you will expose his puppeteer behavior, for you are the proof of how he betrayed his loyalty."**_

He sighed, gazing down at his daughter's sleeping form. As he stroked her hair, so much like his own, he couldn't help but miss _him_ for but a moment.

 _"Just think,"_ he thought bitterly, a frown coming to his face. _"all the while you're with_ _her_ _, you're absent from watching your daughter grow up."_

He could never forgive him for abandoning him when he needed him most - from him came his blessing; from him came his plan of revenge.

Hera was told her 'mommy' used to be the queen until her father exiled him. She decided right then and there to hate him for hurting her father so. _"Why would you hurt Mommy like that, Father...?"_

* * *

 _ **"Guileess daughter, each day you grow older, each moment I'm watching my vengeance unfold."**_

"Hera, sweet, please come here." Her daddy's voice snapped her out of her reverie and she hopped up, running to his arms. "Yes, Daddy?"

"I know you're sixteen," he sighed heavily. "and that you aren't a child anymore, but I have one favor to ask of you."

"Anything, Daddy." Her amethyst eyes shone with appreciation.

He gave her a sad smile and placed a daggar into her hand. Upon seeing her shock, he answered, "I need you to...to kill your father."

 _ **"For the child of my body, the flesh of my soul will die in returning the birthright he stole."**_

"Daddy, I-" Her face held confusion and slight hurt. "I don't even know my father! How can I-"

"I understand that this is a difficult request." He sighed again, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I know you may hold some resentment towards me for asking, but please. Doing so will give my heart a rest."

"Why do you hate Father so much?" She dared ask quietly.

"He stole my heart." His voice went to a whisper as glassy purple irises, much like her own, filled with tears. "He exiled me for false reasons. I would never..."

She placed a hand on his back, allowing him to hold her as she dropped the daggar to the table. "It's okay, Daddy. You don't have to tell me if it's too painful."

"I loved him, Hera," His voice sounded broken as he stroked her hair tenderly. "he heard the lies that I had slept around, that that was how I got pregnant with you-"

She just held her father close, feeling her own eyes well up with tears at his sadness. "Daddy..."

"Hera, you don't have to." He whispered in her ear, holding her like a lifeline. "But doing so...will ease my suffering."

Her eyes narrowed, she pulled back and nodded, furiously wiping her tears away. "I will, Daddy. I, too, to be honest, resent Father."

 _ **"Hush, child, the darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep."**_

"You do?"

"He never once came by." She shook slightly with anger. "In all of my sixteen years, I have never caught even a glimpse of what he looks like. To think! Not even I know my father's face-"

"I still have a carving of him." Her father cut in.

"You do?" She stared at him. "I thought you would've thrown it away if it's connected to so many bad memories."

"Well, there weren't _that_ many bad memories. We courted for some time, fell in love, and got married, then I got pregnant." He sighed. "He freaked out when the rumors came in that I was unfaithful, so he exiled me to the desert. That's where I met Akefia and Ryou."

"Daddy, I'm so sorry." She looked down to the ground, tears once again in her eyes. "If I hadn't came along, you'd still be happy with Father in the palace."

"Who told you-" He stopped, then slapped himself. "Oh, right. Ryou and Akefia must've."

"They said you were once royalty. Is it true?" She asked.

"Yes, I was. Your father was the son of the king, and I was a peasant." His eyes got a faraway look in them. "It was, for him, love at first sight. It took a while before I trusted him, but he practically begged me to allow him to court me."

He chuckled. "The day he saved me from rogue soldiers is the day I truly fell in love."

"Wow..." She whispered. "So when you got married, you became his-"

"His 'queen', as he would call it." He sighed, picking up the daggar. "It's had so much strain on my heart lately, that..."

"Daddy, I will do it." She took the daggar gently from his hand, smiling as she gazed up at his weary face. "If it'll make you happy, I'll...kill Father."

He tried to smile back, stroking her cheek tenderly. "I...I'll go pack you a bag. You leave tonight."

"You want me to assassinate him in the dead of night?"

"Perfect chance." He shook his head to clear his mind, and disappeared downstairs. "And the queen...if you don't want to, leave her alive."

She remained, gazing at the wall with a mournful expression. Suddenly, she raced downstairs.

 _ **"Child, the darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep."**_

* * *

"I'm not so sure we should do this, Akefia..." Ryou whispered quickly into his ear. "He's probably forgotten she exists."

"It's for the best." His face looked grim for a second before he smiled down at his 'niece'. "Ready to go?"

"Yep!" She chirped, skipping ahead of them. Both of them shared a laugh at her enthusiasm.

On the inside, she was frowning. _"Why should I be happy about going to see him? If this is truly the last chance I'll get..."_

 _ **"Hush, child, the darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep..."**_

* * *

"My king," Akefia and his band bowed, including Hera. "we've come to offer you valuable spices and jewels."

"Very well," his voice was deep. "Please rise."

She felt a shiver go up her spine. _"This is the man who betrayed Daddy...?"_

As she rose, her eyes locked with his ruby ones. She saw his eyes widen a fraction for a moment, before returning to his stony facade.

 _"He looks...just like me."_ She mentally noted, eyes narrowing a bit.

Ryou nudged her, and her face went cheerful again, presenting a chest full of pieces of jewelry and precious stones to the foot of the stairs. "My king."

"What is your name, child?" He asked her.

She ignored their expectant eyes and answered lowly, "I am Hera, your highness."

She set the chest down and bowed, opening it to reveal its contents. "I bring gifts."

She heard the queen gasp in delight. "Oh, they're wonderful!"

She couldn't help but feel resentment well up in her heart for this woman. Although she'd never met her, she felt angry that her daddy was replaced by... _this_.

"Indeed." Sickened, she couldn't bare to look at his face.

 _"That face that's so much like my own..."_ She thought bitterly.

Her concealed weapon was gripped tightly.

 _ **"Loyalty, loyalty..."**_

 _ **"Loyalty, loyalty..."**_

 _ **"Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty...only to me."**_

* * *

It was midnight, Akefia and Ryou were waiting outside the palace walls, and she snuck down the long corridor wearing a black cloak.

She'd already quietly slain the slaves guarding the doors and the royal duo's personal slaves, so now all she needed was to kill them.

As she crept inside, she couldn't help but envy how peaceful they looked. "Daddy and Father were like that at one time, weren't they...?"

Gripping the knife in an almost crushing fist, with one quick movement, she stabbed the queen, holding a pillow over her face so her screams were muffled. She kept stabbing until she was sure she was dead, then moved to the king.

Her eyes softened somewhat, gently gazing over his relaxed form. "I'm sorry I have to do this...Father."

Blinking back tears, she rose the knife to stab him.

A terrible squelching sound was heard, and as she looked down, she saw the sword sticking out of her abdomen.

Her eyes travelled up to see a very much-awake king, looking remorseful as he quickly removed the sword from her body.

Almost immediately, the blood began to soak through her clothes as she fell to the floor, the daggar nearly falling from her grasp.

"Hera..." He whispered, kneeling down beside her. Stroking her hair, he held her close to him. "You're...my daughter, aren't you?"

She didn't answer for a moment, focusing on breathing.

"It's funny," he tried to chuckle. "he and I had been talking about a female child's name, when I found out he was pregnant...we decided on Hera."

She avoided his eyes, allowing her tears to fall freely down her face.

"I regretted every day I lived without him," he continued softly. "I regretted allowing myself to believe those cursed rumors..."

Hera looked up at him, voice pained as she asked, "Why?"

He gazed down at her in question.

"Why...why would you-" She coughed and hacked, spitting blood onto the floor. "Daddy has been heartbroken...all these years..."

"I realize." He put the sword on the floor, watching the blood seep off the blade for but a moment.

He suddenly felt a blinding pain in his chest. As he looked back toward his daughter, the daggar was sticking out from where his heart was.

"G...gomen...esai..." She tried to speak, suddenly growing weak. She felt back in his arms.

His breathing grew in pace as he pulled out the blade. "Hera..."

"I...wanted to make Daddy happy," her voice was soft as her chest rose and fell irregularly. "I...hated you for abandoning- me."

"Hera..." He breathed, putting pressure on his wound.

She smiled painfully at him, eyes drooping. "Daddy...I'm so tired..."

Tears came to the king's eyes as he held his dying daughter. "...Would you sing me a lullaby...?"

Her chest stilled, eyes fluttering closed. It was over. _"Ma'is salama..."_

The king began to weep, holding her close. "Hera...I'm sorry."

Suddenly dizzy, he tried to call out for a servant to help them as he fell to the floor, Hera still cradled in his embrace.

 _ **"Hush, child...the darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep..."**_

* * *

 **A/N: No, Atemu didn't die. Hopefully. And...I will accept Anzu-bashing. Who knows, maybe it was her who began the rumors.**

 ***: Hera is the gender-swapped version of Heba for this story.**

 ****: Yes, she has the habit of calling her daddy 'Mommy'. She eventually kicks this.**

 **"Ma'is salama" - What I believe is Arabic for 'Goodbye'. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this.**

 **(The story for both the Japanese and Arabic is that Yugi was originally a Japanese prince. Akefia and Ryou taught her some Arabic.)**


End file.
